Well, I met a lady from this site several years ago from the US who visited the UK. Charming and interesting.
Some years ago we had a 'phone call' thing and I spoke to a lady in Phoenix Arizona. That was fascinating.
Joe Grundy
JoinedPosts by Joe Grundy
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126
Who On This Site Would You Like To Meet?
by minimus inthere are a lot of interesting people that frequent this site.. sometimes, we get an idea of what the posters are really like in "real life".
and i'm sure i could be easily surprised by some that you think might be strong personalities because of their board presence, and in reality, they might be shy in a face to face setting.. i would enjoy meeting simon.
simon used to be terribly annoyed by my posting and now i think he's accepted with tolerance my being here.. farkel seems like a grouchy cantankerous fellow but i think he'd be very interesting company!.
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How Christian thinking was corrupted by Paul's clever explanations
by Terry inwhen modern writers, thinkers, believers in christianity talk about their religion they are almost always depending on saul of tarsus (paul) rather than.
jesus.. there is a good reason for this.
paul wrote letters.
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Joe Grundy
My previous post disappeared into the ether, so apologies if it turns up later and this is a duplicate.
In a simplistic way, I have always tended to compare Paul with Joseph Smith. Both claimed 'vsions and revelations', both started new religions incorporating previous religions, their 'facts' and 'experiences' were uncheckable and unverifiable.
Both new religions, aided by time, distance and space (and obscuration of origins) have become - to one degree or another - 'acceptable, even 'mainstream' to many.
I have always been intrigued by 'Paul' and there are all sorts of theories. Was he the 'wicked deceiver' mentioned in the Dead Sea writings? Who knows. I lived in Cyprus for five years until recently and visited (probably) the spot where he met with Roman governor Sergius Paulinus (that's where he changed his name to Paul) and the curious incident where he blinded the son of Jesus (see Acts). All very strange, but to me it was just a place on my morning walk by the sea to have a beer in the harbour. (may not have been THE 'Jesus' of course).
What does seem to be beyond doubt is that Saul/Paul went off on his travels, spreading his religion. The guys back in Jerusalem, the remnants of the 'Jesus' group, felt compelled to send out their own envoys after him to correct his teachings, brought him back, where he apologised and said he wouldn't do it again.
And - this should never be understated - to understand what was happening, look at the context, what was happening at the time (NT is very sketchy on this).
Always remember, history is written by the victors.
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The Field Service will end someday, maybe?
by Quarterback inlast month i heard a talk from a c.o.
he mentioned that the door to door service will come to an end.
he said that jehovah will tell us to stop it, eventually.
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Joe Grundy
The reality - here in the real world - is that nobody cares about the strange people who are JWs, nor their strange beliefs.
THAT, I believe, is what will finish them gradually. Nobody even cares enough to argue with them. Those people with good manners will smile, accept the the publications and put them straight in the bin. The less well-mannered will laugh in their faces. And the (as I see it) reducing number of dubs will circle their wagons, consider it to be the 'last days', congratulate themselves and study their mags for all sorts of confirmation that they (and only they) are right.
All very sad, really, for the poor saps who have given their life to this crazy and controlling cult.
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Help with Mathematical Concepts, Not Arithmetic
by Band on the Run inmy math background is embarassing.
my public education was very sad.
although i received good grades in college track math courses, i never understood the underlying ideas or motivations.
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Joe Grundy
Good post, Cliff, and reinforces what I was saying.
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The Field Service will end someday, maybe?
by Quarterback inlast month i heard a talk from a c.o.
he mentioned that the door to door service will come to an end.
he said that jehovah will tell us to stop it, eventually.
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Joe Grundy
I never was a dub.
As far as I can see, all 'field service' achieves is pissing off the dubs who have to do it, and, more importantly, exposing dubs to things that may (just may) question their faith.
Two examples : a few months ago a young dub (about 18?) and a younger companion (about 12?) called on my son's house whilst he and I were in the garage fiddling with my motorbike. I'd just read (here on JWN, of course!) a recent mag which re-inforced JW teaching that Adam (aka mankind) was created 6,000 years ago. So, we had a discussion (there had been a recent BBC programme about an excavated house, at least 10,000 years old, on the NW coast of England). I gave him a note of the link to the programme. Will he check it? Who knows.
Second, I had a 'panic' phone call' from my daughter a couple of weeks ago. Dubs were on her estate. She (knowing and sharing my views) wanted a quick question to ask them. There were four, two late middle-age ladies, an old guy and a young aggressive man. They gave the usual crap, the young guy in the lead, and the introductory question about the 'sad state of the world today'. She asked the young guy if he had access to the internet. He said he did, so she told him to google 'Candace Conti' - then come back and try to explain that. (She had my young grandchild in her arms but warned him that if he tried to take a step over the threshold she'd lay him out (which she would)).
If (and I realise that's this a big 'if') the dubs who are going door-to-door report back their true experiences, how long can the WTBTS let this continue?
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Help with Mathematical Concepts, Not Arithmetic
by Band on the Run inmy math background is embarassing.
my public education was very sad.
although i received good grades in college track math courses, i never understood the underlying ideas or motivations.
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Joe Grundy
This is just an observation, but when I put up my last post I had forgotten (I never was a dub) that by definition on an ex-dub site we don't count many current teachers or lecturers amongst our number, do we? Unless, of course, they were lucky enough to get out in time. Sad.
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Help with Mathematical Concepts, Not Arithmetic
by Band on the Run inmy math background is embarassing.
my public education was very sad.
although i received good grades in college track math courses, i never understood the underlying ideas or motivations.
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Joe Grundy
My school days (here in the UK) are long behind me, but I can't help feeling that a lot of the blame can be ascribed to teaching methods. In 'the old days' it was often by rote, nowadays it's more often teaching to pass exams. I was lucky that my Dad loved maths (he used to do algebra problems as a hobby).
Where I think it could be improved is in relating maths to real life. Just as a very basic example, off the top of my head, 'how much paint do I need to buy to paint this room?'. Given that the tin will show 'average coverage' and calculating the area of the walls and ceiling is simple, it 's not hard. But I bet that a random poll would reveal that more people than you might think couldn't manage it.
(ETA): Farkel: enjoyed your succinct explanation of equations. I suspect that teachers may have more success if they employed your method!
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Joe Grundy
Are the London Olympics a present for the Queens golden jubilee ?
Probably not. This is the DIAMOND jubilee!
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You might think that I am a pervert this time, I do not care.
by Iamallcool inhttp://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/michelle-jenneke-australian-hurdler-dancing-sensation-042218109--oly.html.
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Joe Grundy
Well, I watched the video and of course she is very attractive, beautiful body, and so on.
But to me, what came across most strongly is that she is a confident young woman and she is enjoying herself.
Go girl!
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My experience with the Bethel Legal Dept. regarding a Ministerial Servant molesting a boy
by BonaFide inthe experience that follows contains some details that some might find graphic.
so be warned.. the body of elders received word that an unmarried ministerial servant, age 20, had been seen fondling a younger male bible student, age 14. the ministerial servant himself had been studying with the boy.
the ministerial servant was a quiet, timid brother.
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Joe Grundy
Just read through this thread and here's my take on it. Not as a dub or ex-dub (I never was) but as an ex-cop (30 years and far too much experience with abuse cases).
If I've read it right, the JW was somewhat 'mentally challenged' or whatever the current politically-correct term is. Certainly not the sharpest knife in the drawer. So the first question is: why would he be given a position of responsibility in the organisation? I have nothing against those who are 'mentally challenged' but IME most 'worldly churches' would allocate a fairly minor task such as giving out hymn (sorry, song) books and everyone is happy.
Secondly, it sounds as if the Mom already had concerns about her son and perhaps - just perhaps - she was worried that her son had seduced this less than 'firing on all cylinders' JW. Maybe it had happened before.
Thirdly, none of this impacts on or lessens the reaction of WTBTS as reported. 'Dreadful' is my reaction to it - far more concerned with legalistic issues than protecting the vulnerable individuals concerned.